Gorton's Creates a Movement around Wild Alaska Pollock

Gorton's #StickWithFish Campaign

 

1. Tell us about the “StickWithFish” challenge – how did you come up with the idea and what is the goal of the campaign?

In our new campaign created in partnership with GAPP, we’re confronting the negative perceptions of frozen seafood head on with humor and levity to engage existing and younger/emerging consumers. The new “StickWithFish” spots feature actor and comedian Jude Flannelly as he takes to the farmers market, biker bar and kid’s playroom to convert seafood skeptics into trusted seafood appreciators with just one bite. The campaign includes a variety of fun videos you can watch here.

We really wanted to create a movement to bring fish back into peoples’ lives and have the opportunity to educate consumers on the benefits of enjoying our Wild Alaska Pollock offerings.

 

2. Everyone's always asking about "impact". How is this campaign making a difference in terms of building a brand for Wild Alaska Pollock?

It’s about building a quality story. We really wanted to create a movement to bring fish back into peoples’ lives and show them that with just one bite of our fish sticks, we’re confident we can turn seafood skeptics into seafood appreciators. That is because of the exceptional taste experience that comes from Wild Alaska Pollock and our simple list of quality ingredients – it simply tastes fresher and better!

By communicating Wild Alaska Pollock reasons to buy “RTBs” in an authentic/natural way in spot dialogue and through social media post copy, we're continuing to educate consumers on those Wild Alaska Pollock benefits.

 

3. Ok – for those of us that aren't marketers, talk a little about what metrics we look for on campaigns like this and how we measure success. How is this campaign measuring up?

Our goal is to increase the relevancy and quality perception of our products, ultimately leading to a big purchase among those who aren't already regularly consuming seafood. Once they have a great first experience with our product, they will stay in the category and ideally share with friends and family. We'll measure overall liking of the spots based on how often consumers watch all the way through, or share. Next we will track for positive sentiment changes with consumers who are shown the spots. Finally, we will look for an increase in sales.

Across all out tactics we're trying to engage people as much as possible by entertaining/ educating through humorous video and supporting content that drives overall liking and growth.

 

4. Your host makes these videos. Where did you find him and does he love Wild Alaska Pollock now too? 

We developed a casting brief found him through that. Our team looked at hundreds of possibilities, and he was actually the first candidate reviewed! He really stuck out to us throughout the casting process and we couldn’t be happier.

 

5. Gorton's has been unabashed in talking about what a difference having "Wild Alaska Pollock" called out on its packaging has made. Tell us about that and why you think it's having such an effect. 

As you know, we often hear that consumers think frozen seafood is inferior to fresh seafood - they have a perception that it is less fresh-tasting and not made with quality ingredients. Adding “Wild Alaska Pollock” to our packaging has helped to educate our consumers about the ingredients we use. When consumers realize this fish is wild caught in the cold waters of Alaska by really hardworking fisherman they immediately understand this is a better quality fresher tasting product.

At Gorton’s, the quality of our seafood and the high-standards we hold ourselves to is really important. While many consumers who grew up with Gorton’s know how important this is in the products we bring to market, younger consumers are not always aware. That why’s in our campaign, we are striving to educate the next generation of shoppers on the benefits, high-quality and great taste of Gorton’s products to engage them to try first-hand and put those myths to rest.

 

6. We know Gorton's has been active on GAPP's Communications Committee and a North American partner now two rounds (woo hoo!). What's most helpful about consistent messaging around our fish and the partnership dollars? Why are those initiatives worth the money? 

This also stems from being able to educate our consumers in a number of ways. While our #StickWithFish campaign is ongoing, we’re also working with Emmy Award-winning TV personality and food expert Antoni Porowski, who created four delicious and unique recipes using Gorton’s favorites that are made with Wild Alaska Pollock. The recipes that Antoni created show how people can reinvent Gorton’s fish sticks and fillets into something unexpected – and have been featured on Instagram and in outlets like People.com, RedbookMag.com and Delish.com.

We know consumers are bombarded with thousands of messages every day and there are hundreds of outlets to talk about WAP. Whether it is in a TV ad, with and influencer, in store, in recipes, or in social having benefits brought to life clearly and consistently by different voices will allow those benefits to break through the clutter over time and eventually become synonymous with the WAP species – this will be of great benefit to us all!

Our partnership allows us to reach more consumers than we would have alone - by sheer increase in volume we're impacting how many people see our content and transitively how many engage and are influenced to try Gorton's.

 

7. Which video is your favorite and do you think we're creating lifetime Gorton's and Wild Alaska Pollock lovers after "one bite?"

It's tough to pick a favorite! These spots work best as a collection as each communicates a different RTB or delivers a different humorous line. Through our media buy we're letting consumers decide which spots are served the most by optimizing toward those folks are engaging with the most. Here are a few examples:

 

"The Best and Only Fish Stick."

"The Good Kind of Flaky."

"There Was this Warmth Inside of You."